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It’s a Wonderful Life….and Cheeseburger

Nestled on Main Street in Downtown Tigard is Bailey’s Burger Shop. It’s serving up delicious burgers, fries, onion rings and shakes. What you may not know is the story behind its namesake.

Like many of us, owner, Gina Slaughter, grew up watching Its a Wonderful Life during the Christmas season. The movie has fond memories for Gina and her family. When the children in her family misbehaved, her Uncle Jack would say, “Are you going to be a Bailey or a Potter?” The idea of being a Bailey is being someone who stands for what is right. Being a good person. Someone who makes their life count. Gina named the restaurant Bailey’s because, “Slaughter wouldn’t be a good name for a restaurant”, she said with her glowing sense of humor.
Gina opened Bailey’s Burger Shop one year ago. The deposit for the restaurant came from a gift from her beloved late Uncle Jack. He was a drama teacher for forty years. The restaurant’s movie theming, with walls decked posters and old Hollywood memorabilia is a homage to him. This old school style is how they like to do things at Bailey’s, with their glass bottle soda’s with pure sugar, and their hand scooped real ice cream shakes.
You may be familiar with Cascade Organic, which is a wholesale food distributor. They provide fresh and organic foods to restaurants all over Portland. Gina started Cascade in 2009, but it’s been based in Tigard for four years. Her knowledge of food is why Bailey’s is so good; because they use healthy, fresh and organic ingredients. They also use clear canola oil. All ingredients are from local purveyors. This local business supports other local businesses.
The line during the lunch and dinner rush indicates this establishment is living up to its wholesome name. The food is fresh as well as delicious. When I dined there with my family on a Friday night, I saw many to-go orders as well as several Amazon Prime pick-ups in a short amount of time. Did I mention their onion rings? Don’t leave without them – put a ring on it! Crispy perfection. Are they dipped in magic? (Try them with the house made ranch dressing.) If you check out Bailey’s Facebook page, you’ll catch a glimpse of the fun-loving personality of this family business, as well as some mouth-watering pictures of their offerings.
The Joy Cinema hopes to have showings of Its a Wonderful Life sometime before Christmas, so keep an eye out when driving past the theater on 99W or check their website www.joycinema.com. (They’re also planning to have a live band holiday sing-along, featuring all of the classics. It will be followed by a screening of Santa Claus Conquers the Martians.) wouldn’t that be a fun night out? A showing at the Joy Theater, then a Zuzu’s burger at Bailey’s (named after one of George Bailey’s children in the movie) and don’t forget the rings and a shake.
It’s so important that we shop local – especially during the holidays. Don’t settle for McDonald’s or Burgerville when you can have a Bailey’s. In a world of Potters, let’s remember to be Bailey.

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Textbook extrovert. If there’s a stage, Jenny wants to be on it; whether it’s singing in church, doing stand-up comedy or acting. She has recently joined a cult called LuLaRoe. Her husband, David, is deeply concerned. Jenny and David, a pastor, are recently celebrating eighteen years of marriage. After years of infertility, they became adoptive parents of two year old twin boys in 2014. They’ve never been happier or more exhausted. Every day is an adventure. Jenny blogs at thefivestages.wordpress.com and has a regular feature in Tualatin Life newspaper called Everyday Heroes to celebrate those serving our community. She and her husband started a clothing line based on their story and you can check it out at bottlecapbadge.com. There’s nothing we can’t do with a little bit of love and a whole lot of caffeine.